No means no – we call for an end to sexual misconduct
Last month, a research paper published in the British Journal of Surgery (BJS) explored the different experiences faced between men and women in relation to sexual harassment, assault and rape.
It found that women were disproportionately affected, and many felt that organisations did not deal adequately with the issue.
Miss Homa Arshad, clinical lead trauma and orthopaedics at The Royal London Hospital, was one of the authors of the paper. “The silence around sexual assault and harassment by trusted colleagues meant targets often thought they were the only one. In healthcare, our current systems enable and embolden predators and dismiss and deny the experiences of victims. I have seen lives being ruined, and talented people driven out of workplaces and careers. For people struggling to function and facing abuse, there’s a destructive effect on patient safety.”
Unfortunately, this experience is reflective of the wider society we live and work in, with only a small fraction of people reporting the sexual misconduct they experience (including sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape), or witness.
The BJS study found that nearly a third of women (29.9 percent) had been sexually assaulted by a colleague, while the majority of participants (89.5 percent of women, 81 percent of men) said they had witnessed some form of sexual misconduct by colleagues. Only 16 percent of those impacted made a formal report. Of the people who didn’t report it, they cited they were worried about retaliation, career damage and a lack of faith in the system.
Sexual misconduct of any sort by colleagues and patients will not be tolerated at Barts Health. This month, we signed our commitment to further supporting our workforce by signing the NHS sexual safety charter, which Miss Arshad fully supports.
The charter calls for ten key principles and actions to be implemented to bring an end to unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviours. We already have many of the actions outlined in the charter in place, but we are mindful that we could strengthen these actions to create a safer place for our people. We are committed to setting up a task and finish group to enhance our response by June 2024.
We strongly encourage that you report your experiences of, or witnessing of, sexual misconduct – whatever form it takes, and even if it happened awhile ago. It takes all of us to change a culture that has become normalised, and not just the person who has been on the receiving end of the misconduct.
“Many people will downplay or even ignore incidents as they don’t want to kick up a fuss or deal with a complex process,” said Tanya Usher, head of wellbeing, The Royal London and Mile End hospitals. “This unfortunately normalises the ‘lower’ levels of abuse and paves the way for the more serious abuses to go unchecked too.”
We offer a range of independent, confidential and peer networks to report your experiences in a way that works for you.
- Freedom to speak up (independent and confidential)
- Confidence in Care (independent and confidential counselling)
- Staff networks (confidential peer support)
- Wellbeing teams, including specially trauma-trained peer support at The Royal London (private and confidential)
- Psychological safety team (private and confidential)
- Employee wellbeing service (private and confidential)
- Governance teams on sites to support you with raising an incident on Datix
- Trade unions (independent and confidential)
- Your professional college, eg Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Surgeons etc (independent and confidential)
- Metropolitan Police (independent and confidential)
- The Havens (independent specialist centre for rape and sexual assault)
Further information about how we support you to remain safe at work can be found in the dignity at work, disciplinary and safeguarding policies.